69 Pluperfect tense of Group 1–4 verbs
j’ai pu, tu as pu, il/elle/on a pu, nous avons pu, vous avez pu, ils/elles ont
pu
Pluperfect tense
68 Formation
The pluperfect tense is formed by combining the imperfect tense of avoir or eˆtre with
the past participle of the verb.
69 Pluperfect tense of Group 1–4 verbs
Group 1 –er verbs
porter
j’avais porte´, tu avais porte´, il/elle/on avait porte´, nous avions porte´,
vous aviez porte´, ils/elles avaient porte´
aller
j’e´tais alle´/alle´e, tu e´tais alle´/alle´e, il/on e´tait alle´, elle e´tait alle´e, nous
e´tions alle´s/alle´es, vous e´tiez alle´/alle´e/alle´s/alle´es, ils e´taient alle´s,
elles e´taient alle´es
Group 2 –ir verbs
finir
j’avais fini, tu avais fini, il/elle/on avait fini, nous avions fini, vous aviez
fini, ils/elles avaient fini
partir
j’e´tais parti/partie, tu e´tais parti/partie, il/on e´tait parti, elle e´tait partie,
nous e´tions partis/parties, vous e´tiez parti/partie/partis/parties, ils
e´taient partis, elles e´taient parties
mourir
j’e´tais mort/morte, tu e´tais mort/morte, il/on e´tait mort, elle e´tait
morte, nous e´tions morts/mortes, vous e´tiez mort/morte/morts/mortes,
ils e´taient morts, elles e´taient mortes
Group 3 –re verbs
vendre
j’avais vendu, tu avais vendu, il/elle/on avait vendu, nous avions vendu,
vous aviez vendu, ils/elles avaient vendu
descendre
j’e´tais descendu/descendue, tu e´tais descendu/descendue, il/on e´tait
descendu, elle e´tait descendue, nous e´tions descendus/descendues, vous
e´tiez descendu/descendue/descendus/descendues, ils e´taient descendus,
elles e´taient descendues
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
Group 4 –oir verbs
recevoir
j’avais rec¸u, tu avais rec¸u, il/elle/on avait rec¸u, nous avions rec¸u, vous
aviez rec¸u, ils/elles avaient rec¸u
pouvoir
j’avais pu, tu avais pu, il/elle/on avait pu, nous avions pu, vous aviez pu,
ils/elles avaient pu
Future perfect tense
70 Formation
The future perfect tense is formed by combining the future tense of avoir or eˆtre with
the past participle of the verb.
71 Future perfect tense of Group 1–4 verbs
Group 1 –er verbs
porter
j’aurai porte´, tu auras porte´, il/elle/on aura porte´, nous aurons porte´,
vous aurez porte´, ils/elles auront porte´
aller
je serai alle´/alle´e, tu seras alle´/alle´e, il/on sera alle´, elle sera alle´e, nous
serons alle´s/alle´es, vous serez alle´/alle´e/alle´s/alle´es, ils seront alle´s,
elles seront alle´es
Group 2 –ir verbs
finir
j’aurai fini, tu auras fini, il/elle/on aura fini, nous aurons fini, vous aurez
fini, ils/elles auront fini
partir
je serai parti/partie, tu seras parti/partie, il/on sera parti, elle sera
partie, nous serons partis/parties, vous serez parti/partie/partis/
parties, ils seront partis, elles seront parties
ouvrir
j’aurai ouvert, tu auras ouvert, il/elle/on aura ouvert, nous aurons
ouvert, vous aurez ouvert, ils/elles auront ouvert
mourir
je serai mort/morte, tu seras mort/morte, il/on sera mort, elle sera
morte, nous serons morts/mortes, vous serez mort/morte/morts/
mortes, ils seront morts, elles seront mortes
30
73 Conditional perfect tense of Group 1–4 verbs
Group 3 –re verbs
vendre
j’aurai vendu, tu auras vendu, il/elle/on aura vendu, nous aurons vendu,
vous aurez vendu, ils/elles auront vendu
prendre
j’aurai pris, tu auras pris, il/elle/on aura pris, nous aurons pris, vous
aurez pris, ils/elles auront pris
descendre
je serai descendu/descendue, tu seras descendu/descendue, il/on sera
descendu, elle sera descendue, nous serons descendus/descendues, vous
serez descendu/descendue/descendus/descendues, ils seront descendus,
elles seront descendues
Group 4 –oir verbs
recevoir
j’aurai rec¸u, tu auras rec¸u, il/elle/on aura rec¸u, nous aurons rec¸u, vous
aurez rec¸u, ils/elles auront rec¸u
pouvoir
j’aurai pu, tu auras pu, il/elle/on aura pu, nous aurons pu, vous aurez pu,
ils/elles auront pu
Conditional perfect tense
72 Formation
The conditional perfect tense is formed by combining the conditional tense of avoir or
eˆtre with the past participle of the verb.
73 Conditional perfect tense of Group 1–4 verbs
Group 1 –er verbs
porter
j’aurais porte´, tu aurais porte´, il/elle/on aurait porte´, nous aurions porte´,
vous auriez porte´, ils/elles auraient porte´
aller
je serais alle´/alle´e, tu serais alle´/alle´e, il/on serait alle´, elle serait alle´e,
nous serions alle´s/alle´es, vous seriez alle´/alle´e/alle´s/alle´es, ils seraient
alle´s, elles seraient alle´es
Group 2 –ir verbs
finir
j’aurais fini, tu aurais fini, il/elle/on aurait fini, nous aurions fini, vous
auriez fini, ils/elles auraient fini
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
partir
je serais parti/partie, tu serais parti/partie, il/on serait parti, elle serait
partie, nous serions partis/parties, vous seriez parti/partie/partis/
parties, ils seraient partis, elles seraient parties
ouvrir
j’aurais ouvert, tu aurais ouvert, il/elle/on aurait ouvert, nous aurions
ouvert, vous auriez ouvert, ils/elles auraient ouvert
mourir
je serais mort/morte, tu serais mort/morte, il/on serait mort, elle serait
morte, nous serions morts/mortes, vous seriez mort/morte/morts/
mortes, ils seraient morts, elles seraient mortes
Group 3 –re verbs
vendre
j’aurais vendu, tu aurais vendu, il/elle/on aurait vendu, nous aurions
vendu, vous auriez vendu, ils/elles auraient vendu
prendre
j’aurais pris, tu aurais pris, il/elle/on aurait pris, nous aurions pris, vous
auriez pris, ils/elles auraient pris
descendre
je serais descendu/descendue, tu serais descendu/descendue, il/on serait
descendu, elle serait descendue, nous serions descendus/descendues,
vous seriez descendu/descendue/descendus/descendues, ils seraient
descendus, elles seraient descendues
Group 4 –oir verbs
recevoir
j’aurais rec¸u, tu aurais rec¸u, il/elle/on aurait rec¸u, nous aurions rec¸u,
vous auriez rec¸u, ils/elles auraient rec¸u
pouvoir
j’aurais pu, tu aurais pu, il/elle/on aurait pu, nous aurions pu, vous
auriez pu, ils/elles auraient pu
Past historic tense
74 Past historic
A tense that is mainly restricted to the written medium (see 130) and which involves many
irregularities of stem in Groups 3 and 4.
32
78 Examples: Group 2 –ir verbs
75 Past historic tense of Group 1 –er verbs
All –er verbs (even including aller) form their past historic tense regularly, by adding
the endings listed below to their stem. The Subgroup 5 verbs, commencer and
manger, etc, form their past historic tense according to the principles presented above –
see 20.
The following endings are added to the stem.
singular plural
–ai –aˆ mes
–as –aˆ tes
–a –e` rent
76 Examples of Group 1 –er verbs
porter
je portai, tu portas, il/elle/on porta, nous portaˆ mes, vous portaˆ tes,
ils/elles porte`rent
commencer
je commenc¸ai, tu commenc¸as, il/elle/on commenc¸a, nous
commenc¸aˆ mes, vous commenc¸aˆ tes, ils/elles commence`rent
manger
je mangeai, tu mangeas, il/elle/on mangea, nous mangeaˆ mes, vous
mangeaˆ tes, ils/elles mange`rent
aller
j’allai, tu allas, il/elle alla, nous allaˆ mes, vous allaˆ tes, ils/elles alle`rent
77 Past historic tense of Group 2 –ir verbs
All Subgroup 1 and Subgroup 3 (cueillir) verbs and many Subgroup 2 verbs form their
past historic tense in the same way.
The following endings are added to the stem.
singular plural
–is –ıˆmes
–is –ıˆtes
–it –irent
78 Examples of Group 2 –ir verbs
finir
je finis, tu finis, il/elle/on finit, nous finıˆmes, vous finıˆtes, ils/elles
finirent
partir
je partis, tu partis, il/elle/on partit, nous partıˆmes, vous partıˆtes,
ils/elles partirent
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
cueillir
je cueillis, tu cueillis, il/elle/on cueillit, nous cueillıˆmes, vous cueillıˆtes,
ils/elles cueillirent
79 –ir verbs Subgroup 4
venir and tenir have a distinctive form in the past historic –
venir
je vins, tu vins, il/elle/on vint, nous vıˆnmes, vous vıˆntes, ils/elles
vinrent
tenir
je tins, tu tins, il/elle/on tint, nous tıˆnmes, vous tıˆntes, ils/elles tinrent
80 –ir verbs exceptions to Subgroup 2 and mourir
Certain –ir verbs form their past historic tense with the following endings.
singular plural
–us –uˆ mes
–us –uˆ tes
–ut –urent
Examples of –ir verbs forming their past historic in –u–
courir
je courus, tu courus, il/elle/on courut, nous couruˆ mes, vous couruˆ tes,
ils/elles coururent
mourir
je mourus, tu mourus, il/elle/on mourut, nous mouruˆ mes, vous
mouruˆ tes, ils/elles moururent
81 Past historic tense of Group 3 –re verbs
It will be remembered, from the presentation of the present tense of this group of verbs,
that there are many subgroups. Since there are so many anomalies with this group
of verbs in the past historic tense, the most straightforward way of presenting them is
individually. Certain –re verbs form their past historic with endings in –i– and others
in –u–.
Those verbs with endings in –i– will be dealt with first, then those whose endings are
in –u–.
82 Group 3 –re verbs with past historic endings in –i–
singular plural
–is –ıˆmes
–is –ıˆtes
–it –irent
Example of –re verbs with endings in –i–
vendre
34
84 Group 3 –re verbs: past historic endings in –u–
je vendis, tu vendis, il/elle/on vendit, nous vendıˆmes, vous vendıˆtes,
ils/elles vendirent
Battre, perdre, re´pondre, rompre follow a similar pattern.
83 Group 3 –re verbs with stem variation
conduire: the stem acquires an –s–, as follows
je conduisis, tu conduisis, il/elle/on conduisit, nous conduisıˆmes, vous
conduisıˆtes, ils/elles conduisirent
craindre, joindre and other verbs in –aindre/–oindre: the stem changes from
–aind/–oind to –aign/–oign.
craindre
je craignis, tu craignis, il/elle/on craignit, nous craignıˆmes, vous
craignıˆtes, ils/elles craignirent
joindre – je joignis, nous joignıˆmes
dire and rire – the –i– of the stem is absorbed into the ending; consequently at times
the verb form is the same as the present tense. The past historic forms are
je dis, tu dis, il/elle/on dit, nous dıˆmes, vous dıˆtes, ils/elles dirent
e´crire – the stem acquires a –v–, as follows –
j’e´crivis, tu e´crivis, il/elle/on e´crivit, nous e´crivıˆmes, vous e´crivıˆtes,
ils/elles e´crivirent
faire
je fis, tu fis, il/elle/on fit, nous fıˆmes, vous fıˆtes, ils/elles firent
mettre – the stem is reduced to m–; the forms are
je mis, tu mis, il/elle/on mit, nous mıˆmes, vous mıˆtes, ils/elles mirent
prendre
je pris, tu pris, il/elle/on prit, nous prıˆmes, vous prıˆtes, ils/elles prirent
84 Group 3 –re verbs with past historic endings in –u–
The endings are
singular plural
–us –uˆ mes
–us –uˆ tes
–ut –urent
Quite often stem variation is also involved.
Examples of –re verbs with endings in –u–
boire
je bus, tu bus, il/elle/on but, nous buˆ mes, vous buˆ tes, ils/elles burent
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
conclure
je conclus, tu conclus, il/elle/on conclut, nous concluˆ mes, vous concluˆ tes,
ils/elles conclurent
croire
je crus, tu crus, il/elle/on crut, nous cruˆ mes, vous cruˆ tes, ils/elles
crurent
eˆ tre
je fus, tu fus, il/elle/on fut, nous fuˆ mes, vous fuˆ tes, ils/elles furent
lire
je lus, tu lus, il/elle/on lut, nous luˆ mes, vous luˆ tes, ils/elles lurent
vivre
je ve´cus, tu ve´cus, il/elle/on ve´cut, nous ve´cuˆ mes, vous ve´cuˆ tes, ils/elles
ve´ curent
85 Past historic tense of Group 4 –oir verbs
It will be remembered, from the presentation of the present tense of this group of verbs,
that many of them form that tense in highly irregular ways – see 39. The same applies
to the past historic.
As with Group 3 –re verbs, some form their past historics in –i–, others – the majority
– in –u–.
Group 4 –oir endings of past historic
singular plural singular plural
–is –ıˆmes –us –uˆ mes
–is –ıˆtes –us –uˆ tes
–it –irent –ut –urent
86 Group 4 –oir verbs with past historic endings in –i–
s’asseoir
je m’assis, tu t’assis, il/elle/on s’assit, nous nous assıˆmes, vous vous
assıˆtes, il/elles s’assirent
voir
je vis, tu vis, il/elle/on vit, nous vıˆmes, vous vıˆtes, ils/elles virent
87 Group 4 –oir verbs with past historic endings in –u–
avoir
j’eus, tu eus, il/elle/on eut, nous euˆ mes, vous euˆ tes, ils/elles eurent
devoir
je dus, tu dus, il/elle/on dut, nous duˆ mes, vous duˆ tes, ils/elles durent
falloir
36
90 Examples: Group 1–4 verbs
il fallut
pleuvoir
il plut
pouvoir
je pus, tu pus, il/elle/on put, nous puˆ mes, vous puˆ tes, ils/elles purent
recevoir
je rec¸us, tu rec¸us, il/elle/on rec¸ut, nous rec¸uˆ mes, vous rec¸uˆ tes, ils/elles
rec¸ urent
savoir
je sus, tu sus, il/elle/on sut, nous suˆ mes, vous suˆ tes, ils/elles surent
valoir
je valus, tu valus, il/elle/on valut, nous valuˆ mes, vous valuˆ tes, ils/elles
valurent
vouloir
je voulus, tu voulus, il/elle/on voulut, nous vouluˆ mes, vous vouluˆ tes,
ils/elles voulurent
Past anterior tense
88 General comments
This is the least common of the indicative tenses and is only used in conjunction with the
past historic, itself very uncommon in spoken French and in informal writing – see 133.
89 Formation
The past anterior tense is formed by combining the past historic tense of avoir or eˆtre
with the past participle of the verb.
90 Examples of Group 1–4 verbs
Group 1
porter
j’eus porte´, nous euˆ mes porte´
aller
je fus alle´(e), nous fuˆ mes alle´(e)s
Group 2
finir
j’eus fini, nous euˆ mes fini
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
partir
je fus parti(e), nous fuˆ mes parti(e)s
Group 3
vendre
j’eus vendu, nous euˆ mes vendu
descendre
je fus descendu(e), nous fuˆ mes descendu(e)s
Group 4
recevoir
j’eus rec¸u, nous euˆ mes rec¸u
pouvoir
j’eus pu, nous euˆ mes pu
1.3 SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD
Present subjunctive tense
91 Formation
The present subjunctive is normally formed by taking the third person plural form of the
present indicative tense, deleting the ending –ent and adding the appropriate endings.
Obtaining the stem –
portent → port–, finissent → finiss–, courent → cour–, vendent → vend–,
rec¸oivent → rec¸oiv–
The endings are
singular plural
–e –ions
–es –iez
–e –ent
Note that the usual stem variations apply according to the ending added.
92 Group 1 examples of the present subjunctive
porter
je porte, tu portes, il/elle/on porte, nous portions, vous portiez, ils/elles
portent
appeler
j’appelle, nous appelions
jeter
38
95 Group 3 examples: present subjunctive
je jette, nous jetions
acheter
j’ache`te, nous achetions
mener
je me`ne, nous menions
espe´ rer
j’espe`re, nous espe´rions
commencer
je commence, nous commencions
manger
je mange, nous mangions
93 Group 1 verb which diverges from the normal pattern –
aller
j’aille, tu ailles, il/elle/on aille, nous allions, vous alliez, ils/elles
aillent
94 Group 2 examples of the present subjunctive
finir
je finisse, tu finisses, il/elle/on finisse, nous finissions, vous finissiez,
ils/elles finissent
courir
je coure, tu coures, il/elle/on coure, nous courions, vous couriez, ils/elles
courent
cueillir
je cueille, nous cueillions
venir
je vienne, nous venions
95 Group 3 examples of the present subjunctive
vendre
je vende, tu vendes, il/elle/on vende, nous vendions, vous vendiez,
ils/elles vendent
rompre
je rompe, nous rompions
battre
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
je batte, nous battions
croire
je croie, nous croyions
conduire
je conduise, nous conduisions
e´ crire
j’e´cris, nous e´crivions
dire
je dise, nous disions
96 Group 3 verbs which diverge from the normal pattern
eˆ tre
je sois, tu sois, il/elle/on soit, nous soyons, vous soyez, ils/elles
soient
faire
je fasse, tu fasses, il/elle/on fasse, nous fassions, vous fassiez, ils/elles
fassent
97 Group 4 examples of the present subjunctive
recevoir
je rec¸oive, tu rec¸oives, il/elle/on rec¸oive, nous recevions, vous receviez,
ils/elles rec¸oivent
voir
je voie, tu voies, il/elle/on voie, nous voyions, vous voyiez, ils/elles
voient
devoir
je doive, tu doives, il/elle/on doive, nous devions, vous deviez, ils/elles
doivent
98 Group 4 verbs which diverge from the normal pattern
avoir
j’aie, tu aies, il/elle/on ait, nous ayons, vous ayez, ils/elles aient
pouvoir
je puisse, tu puisses, il/elle/on puisse, nous puissions, vous puissiez,
ils/elles puissent
savoir
40
100 Examples of the imperfect subjunctive
je sache, tu saches, il/elle/on sache, nous sachions, vous sachiez, ils/elles
sachent
vouloir
je veuille, tu veuilles, il/elle/on veuille, nous voulions, vous vouliez,
ils/elles veuillent
Imperfect subjunctive tense
99 Formation and usage
The imperfect subjunctive is extremely rare in everyday usage – see 145. When it occurs,
it is normally the third person singular form that is found.
It is normally formed by taking the first person singular form of the past historic tense,
deleting the last letter and adding the appropriate endings.
Obtaining the stem –
portai → porta–, finis → fini–, courus → couru–, vendis → vendi–,
rec¸us → rec¸u–
The endings are
singular plural
–sse –ssions
–sses –ssiez
–ˆt –ssent
Note that for the third person singular a circumflex accent is added to the vowel of the
stem.
100 Examples of the imperfect subjunctive
Group 1
porter
je portasse, tu portasses, il/elle portaˆ t, nous portassions, vous portassiez,
ils/elles portassent
aller
j’allasse, tu allasses, il/elle/on allaˆ t, nous allassions, vous allassiez,
ils/elles allassent
Group 2
finir
je finisse, tu finisses, il/elle/on finıˆt, nous finissions, vous finissiez,
ils/elles finissent
courir
je courusse, tu courusses, il/elle/on couruˆ t, nous courussions, vous
courussiez, ils/elles courussent
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
Group 3
vendre
je vendisse, tu vendisses, il/elle/on vendıˆt, nous vendissions, vous
vendissiez, ils/elles vendissent
eˆ tre
je fusse, tu fusses, il/elle/on fuˆ t, nous fussions, vous fussiez, ils/elles
fussent
Group 4
recevoir
je rec¸usse, tu rec¸usses, il/elle/on rec¸uˆ t, nous rec¸ussions, vous rec¸ussiez,
ils/elles rec¸ussent
avoir
j’eusse, tu eusses, il/elle/on euˆ t, nous eussions, vous eussiez, ils/elles
eussent
pouvoir
je pusse, tu pusses, il/elle/on puˆ t, nous pussions, vous pussiez, ils/elles
pussent
Perfect and pluperfect subjunctive tenses
101 Formation
The perfect subjunctive is formed by combining the present subjunctive of the auxiliary
verbs avoir or eˆtre with the past participle of the verb, and the pluperfect subjunctive
similarly by combining the imperfect subjunctive of the auxiliary verbs avoir or eˆtre
with the past participle of the verb.
102 Examples of Group 1–4 verbs
Group 1
j’aie porte´, j’eusse porte´
Group 2
j’aie fini, j’eusse fini
Group 3
j’aie vendu, j’eusse vendu
j’aie e´te´, j’eusse e´te´
Group 4
j’aie rec¸u, j’eusse rec¸u
j’aie eu, j’eusse eu
42
104 Compound tenses
Pronominal verbs
103 Pronominal verbs
A pronominal verb is one which is accompanied by an unstressed object pronoun (see
208) in all its forms. The verbs are conjugated in exactly the same way as non-pronominal
verbs – those ending in –er are conjugated like other verbs ending in –er with the same
qualifications as apply to the latter (subgroups); and the same applies to the other groups
of verbs. The pronouns are me, te, se (for third person singular and plural), nous,
vous.
Present tense
Group 1
se lever = to get up
je me le`ve, tu te le`ves, il/elle/on se le`ve, nous nous levons, vous vous levez,
ils/elles se le`vent
Group 2
se souvenir = to remember
je me souviens, tu te souviens, il/elle/on se souvient, nous nous
souvenons, vous vous souvenez, ils/elles se souviennent
Group 3
se plaindre = to complain
je me plains, tu te plains, il/elle/on se plaint, nous nous plaignons, vous
vous plaignez, ils/elles se plaignent
Group 4
s’asseoir = to sit down
je m’assieds, tu t’assieds, il/elle/on s’assied, nous nous asseyons, vous
vous asseyez, ils/elles s’asseyent
104 Compound tenses
The major difference between pronominal and non-pronominal verbs occurs in the area
of compound tense formation. Whereas the majority of non-pronominal verbs use avoir
as their auxiliary when they form their compound tenses (see 63, 64), and only a small
minority do not, all pronominal verbs without exception use eˆtre for their compound
tenses –
se lever – je me suis leve´(e)
se souvenir – je me suis souvenu(e)
se plaindre – je me suis plaint(e)
s’asseoir – je me suis assis(e)
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
105 Agreement of past participles
The fact that the compound tenses of pronominal verbs are conjugated with eˆtre and
not avoir has consequences for the agreement of the past participles – see 64. How-
ever, the situation is not quite so straightforward as with non-pronominal verbs con-
jugated with eˆtre. Agreement depends upon the syntactic status of the object pronoun
– whether it is direct object or indirect object. In the former case, agreement occurs; in
the latter it does not. It is important, therefore, to interpret the value of the pronouns
correctly.
106 The variable values of reflexive pronouns – how to
interpret the pronouns
The pronouns that are used in conjunction with pronominal verbs have a number of
values.
1 They may be direct objects
The pronoun is directly affected by the action of the verb –
je me lave = I get washed, I wash myself
However, at times the action exerted by the verb is less obvious –
je me couche = I go to bed
je me suis assis = I sat down
elle s’est promene´e = she went for a walk
In all these cases, in compound tenses, the past participle agrees with the subject of the
verb.
2 They may be indirect objects
In this case the pronoun is not directly affected by the action of the verb, and no agreement
occurs –
je me suis dit que . . . = I said to myself that . . .
je me lave les mains = I am washing my hands
– here les mains is the direct object, what is being washed; the indirect object indicates
that the hands belong to the subject (see 257).
3 They may be used reflexively
In such circumstances the pronouns indicate that the subjects are doing something to
themselves. This applies to all the previous examples given in 1 and 2.
je me lave = I wash myself
je me couche = I put myself to bed
Elle se croyait enceinte = she thought she was pregnant (literally she thought herself
pregnant)
44
106 Variable values of reflexive pronouns
4 They may be used without a reflexive value
The pronoun has no independence from the verb, and the verb and pronoun constitute
a single semantic entity –
s’abstenir = to abstain, s’en aller = to go away, se douter = to suspect, s’endormir
= to go to sleep, s’e´vanouir = to faint, se me´fier = to mistrust, se repentir = to repent
In all these cases, in compound tenses, the past participle agrees with the subject of the
verb.
5 They may have a reciprocal value
The pronoun is used to convey the fact that several subjects are doing the same thing to
each other.
The pronoun may be direct or indirect object –
Direct object –
s’admirer = to admire each other, s’aimer = to love each other, se de´tester = to hate each
other, se regarder = to look at each other
Indirect object –
se dire (la ve´rite´) = to tell each other (the truth), s’e´crire = to write to each other,
s’envoyer (un mail) = to send each other (an e-mail), se raconter (des histoires) = to
tell each other (stories)
A consequence of this is that certain verbs may be ambiguous in interpretation, sometimes
being reflexive, sometimes reciprocal.
Examples
se connaıˆtre
in the singular a verb like se connaıˆtre is reflexive – je me connais = I know
(= understand) myself –
but in the plural, it may be used
1 reciprocally – ils se connaissent = they know each other or
2 reflexively – ils se connaissent = they know (= understand) themselves.
se poser
The same would apply to se poser des questions – ils se posent des questions =
they ask each other questions or they ask themselves questions.
En Afrique, la nourriture, c’est culturel. Les maris ne se posent pas la
question de savoir si leur e´pouse cuisine bien = in Africa food is a cultural matter.
Husbands don’t ask themselves whether their wife is a good cook
se dire
1 Les analystes se sont dits de´c¸us par le re´sultat net du troisie`me
trimestre = the analysts declared themselves disappointed by the net result of the third term
2 Les analystes se sont dit des histoires pour e´gayer les re´sultats
de´cevants = the analysts told each other stories to enliven the disappointing results
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
In 1 the analysts are describing themselves (direct object) as disappointed; in 2 they are
telling stories (direct object) to themselves (indirect object).
A way of avoiding this potential ambiguity is to add the expression l’un l’autre
in the appropriate form (for number and gender) in order to reinforce the reciprocal
value –
Les hommes politiques se sont fe´licite´s d’avoir re´ussi leur campagne = the
politicians congratulated themselves on the success of their campaign
Les hommes politiques se sont fe´licite´s les uns les autres d’avoir re´ussi
leur campagne = the politicians congratulated each other on the success of their campaign
Sophie et Jessica se sont maquille´es = Sophie and Jessica made themselves up / put their
make-up on
Sophie et Jessica se sont maquille´es l’une l’autre = Sophie and Jessica made each
other up / put each other’s make-up on
6 As an alternative to the passive voice
The pronominal form of many verbs may be used instead of or to avoid the passive
voice – see 114.
Le franc¸ais se parle au Que´bec = French is spoken in Quebec
Il est comptable – c¸a se voit bien = he’s an accountant, that can easily be seen (= that’s
obvious)
Cette expression ne s’emploie plus = that expression is no longer used
Cette plante ne se trouve que dans tre`s peu de jardins = this plant is only found in
a few gardens
107 Occasional difficulty in deciding whether the pronoun
is direct or indirect object
It is not always immediately clear, especially for an English speaker who tries to trans-
late the French pronominal verb directly into English, whether the object pronoun is
indirect or direct. Sometimes a moment’s reflexion is necessary to establish which pro-
noun is involved; at other times, in order to grasp the relationship between the pronoun
and the verb, mental gymnastics are required, as some of the examples quoted above
illustrate.
The case of se souvenir = to remember and se rappeler = to remember
As far as se souvenir = to remember (see below) is concerned, the se is direct object,
but, in the case of se rappeler = to remember, it is indirect object – the test here is that se
souvenir is followed by de, so that what is remembered depends upon a preposition,
consequently making the se direct object (= I remind myself ); whereas in the case of se
rappeler what is remembered is the direct object and consequently the pronoun, as
with se laver earlier, indicates who is being reminded (= I recall to myself (?)).
Elle s’est souvenue de mon anniversaire but elle s’est rappele´ mon
anniversaire = she remembered my birthday
If the pronominal verb is followed by de, the pronoun is treated as a direct object.
46
109 Verbs that are always/sometimes pronominal
108 The agreement in compound tenses of pronominal verbs
with direct objects and those with indirect objects
1 Perfect tense of pronominal verbs with a direct object pronoun
se laver
je me suis lave´/lave´e, tu t’es lave´/lave´e, il s’est lave´, elle s’est lave´e, nous
nous sommes lave´s/lave´es, vous vous eˆtes lave´/lave´e/lave´s/lave´es, ils se
sont lave´s, elles se sont lave´es
Other examples –
s’asseoir, s’attaquer = to attack, se baigner = to have a swim, se battre = to fight,
se blesser = to hurt yourself, se cacher = to hide, se coucher = to go to bed, s’e´tendre
= to stretch out, s’habiller = to get dressed, s’installer = to settle down, se lever, se
mettre debout = to stand up, se mettre en route = to set out, se promener, se
raser = to get shaved, se retrouver = to turn up, se rouler = to roll, to wrap
yourself up
2 Perfect tense of reflexive verbs with an indirect object pronoun
se rendre compte = to realise
je me suis rendu compte, tu t’es rendu compte, il/elle s’est rendu compte,
nous nous sommes rendu compte, vous vous eˆtes rendu compte, ils/elles
se sont rendu compte
Other examples –
s’admettre = to admit, se demander = to wonder, se dire = to say to yourself, s’e´crire
= to write to yourself, se parler = to talk to yourself, se reprocher = to reproach yourself, and
all examples where an action is being undertaken on part of the body – se brosser les
dents = to brush your teeth, se casser la jambe = to break a leg, se frotter les mains
= to rub your hands, se laver le visage = to wash your face
For agreement of past participles with a direct preceding object, see 214.
109 Verbs that are always pronominal and those that are
sometimes pronominal
It will have been clear from the above sections that certain verbs are always pronominal,
whereas others sometimes are and sometimes are not. Most non-pronominal verbs may
on occasions be used pronominally.
A small selection of verbs which are always pronominal in form –
s’abstenir = to refrain, s’en aller = to go away, se blottir = to huddle up,
s’e´vanouir = to faint, se re´fugier = to take refuge, se souvenir = to remember
A small selection of verbs which have pronominal and non-pronominal forms –
cacher = to hide (an object) – se cacher = to hide (yourself)
laver = to wash – se laver = to get washed
lever = to raise up – se lever = to get up
nourrir = to feed – se nourrir = to feed yourself
promener = to take for a walk – se promener = to go for a walk
raser = to shave – se raser = to have a shave
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
Voice
110 Active and Passive Voice
In simple terms, in the case of verbs in the active voice, the subject of the verb performs
the action indicated by the verb.
In the case of verbs in the passive voice, the subject of the verb undergoes the action
indicated by the verb – the object of an active verb becomes the subject of a passive
verb –
Le ministre a manipule´ l’opinion publique = the minister manipulated public
opinion →
L’opinion publique a e´te´ manipule´e par le ministre = public opinion has been
manipulated by the minister
Sa femme le domine = his wife dominates him →
Il est domine´ par sa femme = he’s dominated by his wife
111 Restrictions on conversion from active to passive voice
Unlike English, where an indirect object may be transformed into the subject of a passive
verb (eg his girlfriend gave him the CD for his birthday →he was given the CD for his birthday by
his girlfriend), in French only direct objects can be so used. Indirect objects cannot become
the subject of a verb in the passive voice.
112 Formation of the passive voice
The passive is formed by combining the past participle of the verb with the appropriate
tense of the auxiliary verb eˆtre. The past participle agrees with the subject of the verb.
The conjugation of porter in the passive voice –
porter
present tense passive –
je suis porte´/e, tu es porte´/e, il/on est porte´, elle est porte´e, nous sommes
porte´s/es, vous eˆtes porte´/e/s/es, ils sont porte´s, elles sont porte´es
imperfect tense passive –
j’e´tais porte´/e, tu e´tais porte´/e, il/on e´tait porte´, elle e´tait porte´e, nous
e´tions porte´s/es, vous e´tiez porte´/e/s/es, ils e´taient porte´s, elles e´taient
porte´ es
perfect tense passive –
j’ai e´te´ porte´/e, tu as e´te´ porte´/e, il/on a e´te´ porte´, elle a e´te´ porte´e, nous
avons e´te´ porte´s/es, vous avez e´te´ porte´/e/s/es, ils ont e´te´ porte´s, elles
ont e´te´ porte´es
future tense passive –
je serai porte´/e, tu seras porte´/e, il/on sera porte´, elle sera porte´e, nous
serons porte´s/es, vous serez porte´/e/s/es, ils seront porte´s, elles seront
porte´ es
48
114 Avoiding and using the passive voice
pluperfect tense passive –
j’avais e´te´ porte´/e, tu avais e´te´ porte´/e, il/on avait e´te´ porte´, elle avait e´te´
porte´e, nous avions e´te´ porte´s/es, vous aviez e´te´ porte´/e/s/es, ils avaient
e´te´ porte´s, elles avaient e´te´ porte´es
The other tenses, subjunctive as well as indicative, are formed according to the same
pattern.
113 Examples of the passive voice
Deux me´decins de Palerme sont soupc¸onne´s d’avoir soigne´ le parrain de
Cosa Nostra = two doctors from Palermo are suspected of having treated the godfather of Cosa
Nostra
Un sondage a e´te´ re´alise´ au mois de septembre = a survey was carried out in
September
Ce mois-ci vous serez soulage´e d’ajouter le mot « fin » a` votre manuscrit =
this month you’ll be relieved to add the word ‘finished’ to your manuscript
La certitude d’e´tre trompe´ gagne du terrain = the certainty of being cheated on gains
ground
Un accord a e´te´ passe´ entre la pre´sidence du tribunal de Paris et le
barreau = an agreement has been signed between the president of the Paris court and the bar
Les deux me´thodes donnent d’excellents re´sultats, a` condition qu’elles
soient exe´cute´es par de vrais pros = the two methods give excellent results, provided that
they are carried out by real professionals
Un peu d’activite´ s’impose, car, meˆme si votre capital beaute´ n’est pas
encore entame´, il vaut mieux eˆtre pre´voyante = a little activity is called for, because
even if your beauty capital hasn’t yet been opened up, it’s better to think ahead
Votre patron n’est pas oblige´ d’embaucher, meˆme si c’est l’esprit de la
loi = your boss isn’t obliged to take on any extra staff, even if it’s in the spirit of the law
114 Avoiding and using the passive voice
In relative terms English uses more passive voice constructions than French. This is
because French has a number of strategies that are regularly employed as alternatives to
the passive voice. In other words, where a passive voice would be used in English, French
sometimes uses a different construction. There are two strategies that are commonly
used as alternatives to the passive voice in situations where, in English, a passive would
be used.
1 The impersonal pronoun on
On is much more common as a pronoun in French than its equivalent one is in
English – see 226 –
On dit que = it is said that
On croit que = it is thought that
On lui a re´pare´ sa voiture = his car has been repaired
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
2 The pronominal form of the verb
L’ordinateur s’est inexorablement inte´gre´ dans le paysage professionnel =
computers have inexorably become an integral part of the professional scene
Une prise de conscience qui s’accompagne d’une sacre´e pe´riode de
maturation = a pang of conscience accompanied by a jolly good period of growing up
Nous pensons que ce retard s’explique par une offre inacceptable = we think
that this delay may be explained by an unacceptable offer
See also 106.
Using the passive voice
As the examples in 113 have shown, despite the comment that French avoids the passive
voice, there are many instances where the passive voice is used. These tend to be in
technical and semi-technical circumstances – in manuals, brochures, reports, official
documents and so on.
Exercises
1 Formation des verbes
Pour chacun des verbes suivants, donnez la forme qu’on vous demande –
indicatif
le pre´sent
premie`re personne du singulier –
courir, craindre, cueillir, devoir, e´crire, eˆtre, lire, savoir, venir, vouloir
deuxie`me personne du pluriel –
aller, avoir, commencer, finir, manger, partir, pouvoir, prendre, voir,
valoir
l’imparfait
deuxie`me personne du singulier –
avoir, eˆtre, faire, finir, manger, perdre, recevoir, rire, valoir, vendre
troisie`me personne du pluriel –
aller, commencer, conduire, courir, devoir, jeter, porter, recevoir,
savoir, vouloir
le futur
troisie`me personne du singulier –
acheter, aller, boire, courir, eˆtre, pouvoir, savoir, venir, voir, vouloir
premie`re personne du pluriel –
aller, commencer, devoir, envoyer, jeter, mener, mourir, partir, tenir,
vendre
50
Exercises
le passe´ simple
troisie`me personne du singulier –
aller, boire, croire, cueillir, eˆtre, porter, finir, pouvoir, savoir, vouloir
deuxie`me personne du pluriel –
avoir, conduire, courir, devoir, e´crire, faire, lire, mener, mettre, vivre
subjonctif
le pre´sent
troisie`me personne du singulier
avoir, dire, eˆtre, faire, finir, jeter, porter, savoir, valoir, vouloir
deuxie`me personne du pluriel
aller, boire, devoir, eˆtre, faire, manger, mettre, pouvoir, vendre,
vouloir
l’imparfait
troisie`me personne du singulier
aller, avoir, boire, commencer, eˆtre, faire, finir, mener, savoir, vouloir
premie`re personne du pluriel
acheter, courir, devoir, eˆtre, faire, partir, porter, pouvoir, vendre,
vouloir
2 Les auxiliaires
Avec quel auxiliaire est-ce que les verbes suivants se conjuguent?
aller, arriver, s’asseoir, dire, falloir, mourir, naıˆtre, porter, pouvoir,
recevoir, venir
3 Les verbes pronominaux
Donnez les formes des verbes pronominaux suivants qu’on vous
demande; en plus donnez les pronoms sujets –
troisie`me personne masculine du singulier et deuxie`me personne du pluriel du
pre´sent de l’indicatif –
s’asseoir, se laver, se lever, se plaindre, se souvenir
troisie`me personne fe´minine du singulier et deuxie`me personne masculine du pluriel
du passe´ compose´ de l’indicatif –
s’en aller, s’asseoir, se bercer, se laver, se lever, se me´fier, se plaindre,
se porter, se rappeler, se souvenir
4 Re´e´crivez les passages suivants en transposant les verbes actifs en leur
e´quivalent passif; le cas e´che´ant, faites d’autres modifications pour
garder le sens de la phrase –
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
a. On peut utiliser le tableau e´lectronique interactif comme un tableau
normal – le stylet remplace la craie. On peut e´galement y projeter des
infos prises directement sur internet ou` on peut trouver cartes, photos,
graphiques; on peut illustrer les cours facilement.
b. Seule une solution associant robustesse et maıˆtrise totale de votre
consommation peut vous satisfaire.
c. C’est aussi un conseiller qui vous accompagne a` chaque e´tape de votre
projet.
d. La cle´mentine confite, on la trouvera chez les confiseurs.
52
Chapter 2 Verbs: 2
2.1 USING VERBS
Mood
The imperative mood
115 The imperative
The imperative is used to give commands and is, therefore, very common in everyday
speech –
sit up, listen, don’t do that, forget it
Certain sets of circumstances are very prone to generate large numbers of orders, which
are then conveyed in the imperative mood – parents to children (and vice versa), teachers
to students, in the military, in arguments, in making arrangements. The written medium
makes less extensive use of the imperative mood – but it is common in manuals, recipes,
instructions on products, etc.
116 The restricted forms of the imperative
The imperative is the verb reduced to its minimum proportions – no subject pronouns
to use, used only with reference to the present time and with a very limited range of
persons; in addition, sentences containing an imperative are often only one word long.
117 The forms of the imperative
The imperative derives mainly from the ‘you’-forms of the present tense of the verb,
second person singular and second person plural; less frequently an imperative based on
the first person plural occurs.
118 Forming the imperative
For Group 1 –er verbs
The singular imperative is derived from the second person singular forms of the present
tense, forms ending in –es or –as (aller – vas) (see 16), with the final –s deleted. This
–s is reinstated in certain situations – see below.
The plural imperative is derived from the second person plural forms and the first
person plural forms with no adjustment.
For Groups 2 –ir, 3 – re and 4 –oir verbs
The singular imperative is derived from the second person singular forms of the present
tense without adjustment (see 23, 30, 40–42). The ouvrir subgroup forms its singular
imperative like a Group 1 –er verb.
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
The plural imperative is derived from the second person plural forms and the first
person plural forms without adjustment.
Examples
Group 1 –er verbs
porter – porte, portez, portons
jeter – jette, jetez, jetons
manger – mange, mangez, mangeons
aller – va, allez, allons
The –s that has been deleted to form the imperative is reinstated when the imperative is
followed by the pronouns en and y –
Vas-y! = off you go!
Parles-en! = talk about it!
Group 2 –ir verbs
finir – finis, finissez, finissons
courir – cours, courez, courons
ouvrir – ouvre, ouvrez, ouvrons
venir – viens, venez, venons
Group 3 –re verbs
vendre – vends, vendez, vendons
dire – dis, dites, disons
e´crire – e´cris, e´crivez, e´crivons
faire – fais, faites, faisons
mettre – mets, mettez, mettons
Group 4 –oir verbs
recevoir – rec¸ois, recevez, recevons
119 Exceptions
There is a very small number of exceptions to the imperative-forming principle outlined
above. However, the verbs involved are common ones –
avoir – aie, ayez, ayons
eˆtre – sois, soyez, soyons
savoir – sache, sachez, sachons
vouloir – veuille, veuillez, veuillons
120 Forming the imperative of pronominal verbs
The forms of the verb itself are created in exactly the same way as for non-pronominal
verbs. The difference between the pronominal and non-pronominal imperative forms
is that the former use the stressed form of the singular reflexive pronoun after the verb
in positive situations, but unstressed forms of the pronoun before the verb in negative
situations.
54
122 Alternatives to the imperative
Positive
se cacher – cache-toi, cachez-vous, cachons-nous
s’asseoir – assieds-toi, asseyez-vous, asseyons-nous
se taire – tais-toi, taisez-vous, taisons-nous
Negative
ne pas se cacher – ne te cache pas, ne vous cachez pas, ne nous cachons pas
ne pas s’asseoir – ne t’assieds pas, ne vous asseyez pas, ne nous asseyons
pas
ne pas se taire – ne te tais pas, ne vous taisez pas, ne nous taisons pas
121 Meaning of the imperative
The meaning of the second person forms is clear – a direct order –
cours, courez = run
mange, mangez = eat up
assieds-toi, asseyez-vous = sit down
The meaning of the first person plural form is less peremptory and is equivalent to English
let’s . . .
mangeons ensemble = let’s eat together
asseyons-nous = let’s sit down
122 Alternatives to the imperative
1 The infinitive used to give an order
In the written medium, particularly on notices, in manuals and instructions, it is common
for the infinitive to be used to give an order. The impression given is of a more polite,
moderated command –
Ne pas marcher sur l’herbe = don’t walk on the grass
Tenir au frais = keep in a cool place
Battre les oeufs avec la cre`me = whisk the eggs and cream together
2 Using de´fense to express a negative command
In negative situations, usually associated with public notices, the word de´fense (= prohi-
bition) is sometimes used –
De´fense d’afficher = stick no bills
De´fense de se pencher dehors = do not lean out
3 The future used to give an order
See 135.
4 Using vouloir to attenuate the imperative
See 163.
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
123 The imperative combined with object pronouns
See 212.
Indicative and subjunctive moods
124 The indicative and subjunctive moods and tenses
Indicative mood
Simple
Present
Imperfect
Past historic
Future
Conditional
Compound
Perfect
Pluperfect
Future perfect
Conditional perfect
Past anterior
Double compound
Subjunctive mood
Simple
Present
Imperfect
Compound
Perfect
Pluperfect
Present tense
125 Uses – 1: present moment; 2: habitual time;
3: universal time
Je mange is equivalent to English I eat (my lunch at one o’clock) and I’m eating (my lunch as
quickly as possible).
1 To describe events happening at the present moment
These fall into three main categories
Those relating to the present moment proper
L’anniversaire de Johnny Halliday est sans aucun doute l’e´ve´nement
musical de l’anne´e = Johnny Halliday’s birthday is without doubt the musical event of the year
La France de´pense pour sa de´fense moins du dixie`me du budget militaire
ame´ricain = France’s defence expenditure is less than a tenth of America’s military budget
Les re´cents feux de foreˆt montrent qu’il ne faut pas relaˆ cher l’effort pour
trouver une solution a` ce proble`me majeur du sud de l’Europe = the recent
forest fires prove that it is vital not to relax efforts to find a solution to this very serious problem affecting
southern Europe
56
127 Other uses of the present tense
2 Those relating to habitual time
Voila` la clef du myste`re – ce littoral exquis apparaıˆt couvert deux jours sur
trois par un brouillard a` couper au couteau = here’s the key to the mystery – this
exquisite coast-line is covered for two days out of three with a fog you could cut with a knife
Elle rentre a` dix-sept heures tous les jours = she comes home every day at five o’clock
Son menu-carte change toutes les trois semaines et les ide´es fusent ici
et la` = he changes the menu every three weeks, and new ideas spurt out everywhere
3 Those relating to universal time
Toute re´ussite est un travail d’e´quipe = every success story is a matter of team effort
Deux et deux font quatre = two plus two makes four
Une ville a besoin d’un syste`me de transports auquel on peut faire
confiance = a town needs a transport system that inspires confidence
Avec l’aˆ ge, on apprend que les autres ont peut-eˆtre raison, meˆme si l’on est
certain qu’ils ont tort = with age, we learn that other people may perhaps be right, even if
we’re sure they’re wrong
126 4: Marking continuous time
In English it is possible to distinguish between a simple present tense (I wonder if we should
go) and a continuous present tense (I’m wondering if we should go). French does not have this
contrast.
Je me demande = I wonder and I’m wondering
However, if it is desirable for a French speaker to stress the length of time an action or
event is taking, a special construction exists, involving (eˆtre) en train de –
A ce moment elle est en train de conside´rer toutes les possibilite´s pour sa
carrie`re = at the moment she’s thinking about all her career possibilities
Il est en train de dresser des plans pour l’avenir = he’s (in the process of) drawing up
plans for the future
127 Other uses of the present tense – 5: future; 6: past
5 To refer to the near and not-so-near future
Je viens te voir ce soir = I’ll come and see you this evening
Nous arrivons dans un instant = we’ll be arriving in a moment
On part pour le Vietnam la semaine prochaine = we’re leaving for Vietnam next week
See also the use of aller 136.
6 To refer to past time
This use of the present tense is known as the historic present, and is very common in
journalism and general literature, often to add a dramatic note or note of immediacy to
the recounting of an incident.
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
Au 18e sie`cle les riches commencent a` partir en vacances. Pour eux la
plage est une sorte de salon avec vue sur mer. On vient pour l’air marin
et la beaute´ des sites = in the eighteenth century, the rich began to go away on holiday. For
them the beach was a sort of lounge with a sea-view. They went for the sea air and the beauty of the
locations
Apre`s son arrive´e en France, elle trouve un poste de jeune fille au pair. Elle
accepte pour le salaire, 700 euros par mois = after she arrived in France, she found a
job as an au pair. She took it because of the pay – 700 euros a month
Past tenses
128 Past tenses
Three tenses may be used to express events taking place one step back in time from the
perspective of the speaker/narrator:
the imperfect, the perfect, the past historic.
When it is a matter of two steps back from the perspective of the speaker/narrator,
other tenses may be used:
the pluperfect, the past anterior, the conditional perfect, the double compound.
Imperfect tense
129 Uses –1: duration; 2: interrupted time; 3: description;
4: repeated action
Equivalent to English I ate my lunch at college every Tuesday, I was eating my lunch when the
doorbell rang, I used to eat my lunch with my friends.
1 To express the duration of time
Son crime? – avoir botte´ les fesses de deux garnements qui chahutaient
dans sa classe = what was his crime? – to have kicked the backside of a couple of tearaways who
were making a nuisance of themselves in his class
L’e´picier cherchait une plus importante part du marche´ en important des
le´gumes du Maroc = the grocer was hoping to get a larger share of the market by importing
vegetables from Morocco
Les repre´sentants e´taient rec¸us a` l’Elyse´e le 3 de´cembre = the representatives were
received by the President on 3 December
Il e´tait conscient de ce qu’il faisait = he was aware of what he was doing
2 To express a period of time interrupted by an event
La jeune femme a obtenu le droit a` un interview, pendant qu’elle dansait
avec la vedette = the young woman obtained the right to an interview, while she was dancing with
the celeb
Pendant qu’il parlait, les enfants ont ri avec impunite´ = while he was speaking,
the kids laughed with impunity
58
130 Past historic: uses
Le chanteur qui roulait a` 201 km/h sur l’autoroute A10, a e´te´ arreˆte´ par la
police = the singer who was driving at 201 km an hour on the A10 motorway was arrested by the
police
3 To describe a set of circumstances
J’ai tre`s vite senti que je n’e´tais pas un Europe´en, que je n’e´tais pas un
Franc¸ais, que j’e´tais un Ne`gre, c’est tout (Aime´ Ce´saire) = I soon realised that I
wasn’t a European, nor a Frenchman, but quite simply a Black
En latin, il y avait trois genres, en franc¸ais deux et en anglais seulement un
= Latin had three genders, French two and English only one
Le document e´tait sans valeur juridique = the document was without legal value
4 To express a repeated or habitual action
L’usine produisait une cinquantaine de voitures par jour = the factory produced
about fifty cars a day
A l’e´poque, on estimait que beaucoup de conducteurs ignoraient les
principes du code de la route = at that time, it was thought that many drivers did not know
the principles of the highway code
Il naviguait avec aisance dans la socie´te´ parisienne = he circulated effortlessly in
Parisian society
Past historic tense
130 Uses
Il mangea is equivalent to English he ate, as in
Le Pre´sident mangea avec ses invite´s dans la salle a` manger de l’Elyse´e =
the President had lunch with his visitors in the dining room of the Elys´ee Palace
The past historic tense is used to refer to a point of time in the past with no link with or
repercussion upon the present.
However, this role may also be played by the perfect tense (see 131). Consequently, it
is important to understand the different values of these two competing tenses as far as
this usage is concerned.
Usage of the past historic has tended to become restricted to certain situations.
Written French – it is the past tense most often used in fairly formal and formal
written French – especially the French of novels, and in some but not all journalism.
Spoken French – its use in spoken (as opposed to written) French is very much
confined to very formal situations – speeches, lectures, talks on the radio or television
dealing particularly with historical matters.
Using the past historic automatically evokes a formal situation – it is completely inap-
propriate in normal spoken French.
From a novel –
Marthe haussa les e´paules, prit un chandelier et courut au salon. Elle en
revint, tenant un dictionnaire d’une main et se mit a` lire une de´finition =
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
Martha shrugged her shoulders, took a candlestick and ran to the lounge. She came back with a
dictionary in one hand and began to read out a definition
From a news magazine
Personne ne jugea bon d’approfondir la question – un comite´ international
fut cre´e´, pre´side´ par Nicolas Nabokov qui usa de sa formidable e´nergie . . .
= no one thought it wise to go further into the matter – an international committee was formed, with
Nicolas Nabokov as chairman who used his extraordinary energy . . .
Ne´e a` Tunis en 1948, elle abandonna ses e´tudes de droit pour entrer a` FR3
Marseille comme pre´sentatrice = born in Tunis in 1948, she gave up her law studies to
enter FR3 Marseille [a radio station] as a presenter
Perfect tense
131 Uses –1: past affecting present; 2: past divorced
from present
J’ai mange´ is equivalent to English I have eaten (my lunch already), I ate (my lunch early
today).
1 The perfect tense is used to refer to a point of time in the past
which has a link with or repercussion upon the present –
Qui a pris plus de 340 fois le Concorde? C’est un certain Pascal Leborgne =
who has flown Concorde more than 340 times? – A certain Pascal Leborgne
Le de´fenseur de Nantes a e´te´ le symbole franc¸ais. Tre`s bon avant la
mi-temps, il a comple`tement plonge´ par la suite = the Nantes defender was a symbol
of France’s performance. He was very good in the first half, but faded completely subsequently
Les ministres des Affaires sociales allemand, japonais et italien l’ont
interroge´ sur sa me´thode = the German, Japanese and Italian Social Affairs ministers have
questioned him on his method
2 To refer to a point of time in the past with no link with or
repercussion upon the present
It is in this usage that the perfect competes with the past historic (see 130). Note that in
spoken French, the perfect tense is the normal tense for conveying past time. It is also
used in written French, particularly in journalism but also in novels, especially in those
written in an informal register. Compare the situation with the past historic, described
above.
A` 76 ans, Fidel Castro ressort [historic present, see 127] son le´gendaire
treillis. Il a de´file´ en teˆte d’une manifestation contre les sanctions adopte´es
par l’Union europe´enne. Au cours d’un discours muscle´, il a menace´
les diplomates en poste de mesures de re´torsion = at 76 Fidel Castro
got out his legendary combat fatigues and marched at the head of a demonstration against the
sanctions adopted by the EU. In a vigorous speech, he threatened the diplomats in post with retaliatory
measures
60
133 Past anterior: uses
Pluperfect tense
132 Uses
Equivalent to English I had eaten my lunch when my friend joined me
1 To refer to a point of time in the past that has taken place before
another event in the past
(in other words which occurs two stages back in the past from the standpoint of the
present)
Elle m’a dit qu’il l’avait suivie pendant deux semaines = she told me that he had
followed her for two weeks
Le directeur avait de´cide´ de punir les e´tudiants qui avaient interrompu les
cours quand on l’avait appele´ pour re´pondre aux questions d’un
journaliste = the head had decided to punish the students who had interrupted the classes when he
was called to answer some questions from a reporter
Il avait cre´e´ de nombreuses e´missions de te´le´vision = he had produced a large
number of television broadcasts
Alessandra Mussolini avait affiche´ son sens de la famille en se mariant a`
Predappio, la ville ou` son pe`re est enterre´ = A M had signalled her sense of the family
by getting married at P, the town where her father was buried
Les supporters du pre´sident ivoirien ont repris leur harce`lement des
troupes franc¸aises qui avaient empeˆche´ les forces gouvernementales
d’effectuer une perce´e vers le nord = supporters of the President of the Ivory Coast have
resumed their harassment of French troops, who had prevented the government forces from making a
breakthrough towards the north
2 To refer to a period of time in the past that has taken place before
another event in the past
Les Romains avaient occupe´ la Gaule pendant quelques sie`cles avant
l’invasion des Francs au 5e`me sie`cle = the Romans had occupied Gaul for several
centuries before the invasion of the Franks in the 5th century
Il est certain qu’avant d’e´crire le livre, il avait passe´ beaucoup de temps a`
faire les recherches ne´cessaires = it’s certain that before writing the book he had spent a lot
of time in research for it
Apre`s un bref passage sur TF1, elle e´tait revenue dans le service public
pour animer de nombreuses e´missions = after a short time on TF1 [a TV station], she
returned to the public service and presented a large number of programmes
Past anterior tense
133 Uses
Equivalent to English She called me after I had finished eating
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
The past anterior is used only in a very limited set of circumstances. Firstly, it is
exclusively a written tense, and secondly it only occurs in subordinate clauses of time,
when the tense of the verb of the main clause in the sentence is the past historic. (In other
words, it is never found in combination with the perfect tense.)
The most common conjunctions with which it occurs are apre`s que = after, aussitoˆ t
que = as soon as, avant que = before, de`s que = as soon as, lorsque = when, quand =
when (see 465) –
De`s qu’il eut signe´ le contrat, tout le monde le fe´licita = as soon as he had signed
the contract, everyone congratulated him
Apre`s qu’il eut cre´e´ sa compagnie en 2002, il commenc¸a ses expe´riences
sur les livres e´lectroniques = after setting up his company in 2002, he began experimenting
with electronic books
Double compound past tense
134 Uses
This tense complements the past anterior – in other words it may be used when the
circumstances that dictate the use of the past anterior occur in spoken rather than written
French. However, the pluperfect may also be used in these circumstances –
Elle est sortie de`s qu’elle a eu rec¸u (or avait rec¸u) le message de son amie =
she went out as soon as she had got the message from her friend
Quand son ami a eu fini (or avait fini) son coke, ils ont quitte´ le bar
ensemble = when her boyfriend had finished his Coke, they left the bar together
Future tense
135 Uses –1: future; 2: attenuation of imperative
1 To refer to events that will take place in the future
A` partir du 29 janvier nous embaucherons une douzaine de nouveaux
employe´s = on 29 January we will take on a dozen new employees
Si tu manges moins de frites, tu ne prendras pas tant de poids = if you eat
fewer chips, you won’t put on so much weight
Il ne fait pas de doute que les re´formes des retraites finiront par eˆtre
vote´es = there’s no doubt that the pension reforms will eventually be approved
Les me´dailles leur seront remises par le ministre des affaires e´trange`res =
the medals will be presented to them by the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Le Noe¨l du personnel de Matignon n’aura pas lieu comme d’habitude a`
l’Ope´ra mais au Muse´e des Arts forains = Christmas for the PM’s staff will not take
place as usual at the Opera but at the Mus´ee des Arts forains
2 As a means of attenuating the imperative – see 122
Vous ouvrirez la feneˆtre, s’il vous plaıˆt = will you open the window, please?
62
138 Conditional: uses 1–3
Je prendrai un kilo de bananes = I’ll have a kilo of bananas
136 Other ways of referring to the future
1 By using the present tense – see 127
It should be noted that using the present tense instead of the future implies a less motivated
intention –
Je passerai te voir ce soir suggests more determination than je passe te voir ce
soir
2 By using aller + the infinitive
The use of aller + infinitive suggests a stronger likelihood that something will happen
Pour me maintenir en bonne sante´, je vais aller a` la piscine chaque
samedi = to keep healthy I’m going to go to the pool every Saturday
Pour expliquer le syste`me, il va utiliser les mots du professeur = in order to
explain the system, he’s going to use the words of the professor
Future perfect tense
137 Use
Equivalent to English will have (eaten), the future perfect tense describes a future event
from the standpoint of its completion –
J’espe`re que dans deux ans nous aurons acheve´ la re´novation de notre
appartement = I hope that in two years’ time we will have completed the refurbishment of our
flat
Il est astucieux – son nouveau tube aura paru juste avant sa prochaine
tourne´e = he’s a cunning so-and-so – his new hit will have been released just before his next
tour
Conditional tense
138 Uses –1: conveying future in reported speech; 2: as
corollary of conditional clause; 3: conjecture
1 In reported speech to represent a future tense in direct speech –
Version in direct speech
Elle a dit: « Jamais personne ne viendra me voir maintenant » = she said, ‘No
one will ever come and see me now’
Version in indirect speech
Elle a dit que jamais personne ne viendrait la voir de`s ce moment-la` = she
said that no one would come and see her from that moment on
Often there is no verb of speech introducing the reported item –
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Ce ne serait point faire oeuvre de justice que de pre´fe´rer les te´ne`bres a` la
lumie`re = it wouldn’t be acting justly if we preferred darkness to light
2 In the main clause of a sentence containing a conditional clause
(ie one introduced by si – see 458)
Si tu mangeais moins, tu perdrais facilement un kilo = if you ate less you’d easily
lose a couple of pounds
Leur le´gitimite´ serait bien plus forte s’ils s’appliquaient a` eux-meˆmes les
re´formes demande´es aux autres = their legitimacy would be much stronger if they applied
to themselves the reforms they demand of others
3 As a means of expressing uncertainty, an hypothesis or conjecture
– a use that does not have an equivalent in English; here a present or past tense is used
with a suggestion that the event may not be entirely true –
Chez l’homme le de´sir serait avant tout visuel = it is suggested that for men desire is
above all visual
Les trois principaux dirigeants re´clameraient deux millions d’euros de
dommages = it’s reported that / apparently the three principal directors have put in a claim for two
million euros damages
Cette machine neutraliserait les menaces qui pourraient nous nuire = this
machine, apparently, neutralises threats which might be harmful to us
Le be´gaiement serait trois fois plus fre´quent chez les hommes que chez les
femmes = stammering is allegedly three times more common in men than in women
Suivant certains experts de 7 a` 30% des cancers seraient imputables a` des
facteurs environnementaux = according to certain experts, from 7 to 30% of cancers are
attributable to environmental factors
Selon un re´cent rapport, la moitie´ des fruits, le´gumes et ce´re´ales
consomme´s en France contiendrait des re´sidus de pesticides = according
to a recent report, half the fruit, vegetables and cereals consumed in France contain pesticide
residues
Conditional perfect tense
139 Uses –1: conveying future perfect in reported speech;
2: hypothesis; 3: conjecture
1 In reported speech to represent a future perfect tense
in direct speech:
Version in direct speech
On le lit dans la presse – la compagnie ae´rienne aura vendu 150
exemplaires de l’Air Bus par 2006 = it’s in the papers – the aviation company will have
sold 150 models of the Air Bus by 2006
Version in indirect speech
64
141 Differences in sequence of tenses
On a lu dans la presse que la compagnie ae´rienne aurait vendu 150
exemplaires de l’Air Bus par 2006 = we read in the papers that the aviation company
would have sold 150 models of the Air Bus by 2006
2 To refer to events that would have taken place if certain
circumstances had been fulfilled
Les performances de l’athle`te auraient e´te´ beaucoup mieux, s’il avait
employe´ un autre entraıˆneur expe´rimente´ = the athlete’s performance would have been
much better if he had used an experienced trainer
L’association n’aurait pas pu e´chapper a` la saisie de ses biens sans les
subventions des services du Premier ministre = the organisation would not have been
able to avoid having its assets seized if it had not been for the grants made by the Prime Minister’s office
Le porte-avions « Cle´menceau » aurait duˆ se faire de´membrer dans un
pays e´loigne´ = the aircraft carrier ‘Cl´emenceau’ should have been dismantled in a far-away country
3 As a means of expressing uncertainty, an hypothesis or conjecture
(see 138) –
Selon notre correspondant, la bombe aurait tue´ une vingtaine de
personnes = according to our correspondent, the bomb killed about twenty people
Le maire aurait laˆ che´ une ve´rite´ qui tournait mal = apparently the mayor blurted
out a truth which caused problems
En 2003, de 8 a` 9% des Franc¸ais auraient rec¸u au moins une fois dans
l’anne´e une eau dont la teneur en pesticides de´passait la norme = in 2003,
from 8 to 9% of the French population had reportedly been supplied at least once during the year with
water that exceeded the norm in pesticide content
140 Differences in tense usage in French and English
Tense usage is very much the same in the two languages. However, there are a few
important differences, in addition to those outlined under the tenses discussed above.
They involve
1 Sequence of tenses –
that is to say, in sentences consisting of more than one clause. Although generally, the
French pattern is very much the same as in English, there is one notable exception –
concerning the future and conditional tenses in time clauses.
2 The use of tenses with depuis, il y a, voici, voila` .
3 The use of tenses with venir de = just.
141 Differences between French and English use of tenses –1:
sequence of tenses
1 Sequence of tenses involving the future and conditional tenses
The problem centres on usage with subordinate clauses of time to refer to future events.
In English, the tense of the verb in the subordinate clause in such situations is either
present or past, whereas in French a future or conditional tense is used
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
Future tense in subordinate clause in French where English has present tense –
Quand tu visiteras la galerie, tu seras sans aucun doute impressionne´ par
les sculptures contemporaines = when you come to the gallery, you will undoubtedly be
impressed by the contemporary sculptures
Vous seconderez le chef de projet aussitoˆ t que vous serez embauche´ = you
will help the project leader as soon as you are taken on
Future perfect in subordinate clause in French where English has past tense –
Lorsqu’il aura fait ses preuves comme pre´sident, on s’attendra a` ce que la
compagnie ame´liore ses performances boursie`res = when he has proved himself as
managing director, it is to be expected that the company’s performance on the Stock Exchange will
improve
Vous serez en relation avec les diffe´rents e´tablissements de soin de la
re´gion, de`s que l’e´quipe aura e´te´ forme´e = you will be in contact with the various care
providers in the area as soon as the team has been set up
Conditional tense in subordinate clause in French where English has past tense –
Il m’a demande´ de trouver un traducteur de son roman, de`s que les revues
seraient positifs = he asked me to find someone to translate his novel as soon as the reviews were
positive
Elle m’avait prie´ de lui donner un coup de te´le´phone, quand j’aurais fini
ma me´moire = she asked me to give her a ring when I’d finished my essay
Conditional perfect tense in subordinate clause in French where English has pluperfect
tense –
Elle lui a de´clare´ qu’elle le ferait quand il l’aurait paye´e = she stated that she
would do it as soon as he had paid her
Aussitoˆ t que la de´mocratie aurait e´te´ e´tablie dans les pays de l’Europe de
l’Est, on pourrait proce´der a` l’e´largissement de l’Union europe´enne = as
soon as democracy was established in the countries of eastern Europe, the enlargement of the EU could
proceed
142 Differences between French and English use of tenses –2:
depuis, il y a
2 The use of tenses with depuis, il y a, voici, voila`
When the present tense of a verb is used in French with depuis, it is equivalent to an
English past tense. Depuis may be translated by for, when the emphasis is upon the
duration of the time, and by since when the emphasis is upon the starting point of the
time (see 348) –
duration
Elle est comme c¸a depuis un an = she’s been like that for a year
66
143 Differences: venir de
starting point
Elle est comme c¸a depuis la mort de son chien = she’s been like that since her dog died
duration
Il est en prison depuis trois ans = he’s been in prison for three years
starting point
Il est en prison depuis 2002 = he’s been in prison since 2002
Other expressions can be used in the same way to achieve the same value –
Il y a / voila` / voici trois ans qu’il est en prison = he’s been in prison for three years
When the imperfect tense of a verb is used with depuis, it is equivalent to the English
pluperfect tense –
Je l’e´piais depuis quelques minutes quand son petit ami est arrive´ = I had
been spying on her for some minutes when her boyfriend turned up
Il e´tait en prison depuis trois ans = he had been in prison for three years
Il e´tait en prison depuis 2002 = he had been in prison since 2002
The same expressions as mentioned above can again be used to achieve the same
value –
Il y a / voila` / voici trois ans qu’il e´tait en prison = he had been in prison for three
years
143 Differences between French and English use of
tenses–3: venir de
3 The case of venir de
Venir de is used to correspond to the English adverb just in such expressions as she has
just arrived, he had just begun.
Where English uses a perfect tense, French uses the present tense of venir de –
Une note confidentielle vient d’eˆtre saisie par la justice = a confidential note has
just been seized by the police
Il vient d’eˆtre nomme´ capitaine de l’e´quipe nationale = he has just been appointed
captain of the national team
Where English uses a pluperfect tense, French uses the imperfect tense of venir de –
Elle venait de recevoir le prix de la meilleure actrice romantique, quand
elle s’est e´vanouie = she had just received the prize for best romantic actress when she
fainted
De´but septembre, on a eu un peu de pluie, on venait de se dire que l’anne´e
ne serait pas merveilleuse – puis le soleil est apparu et tout a muˆ ri = it
rained a little at the beginning of September, we had just said to ourselves that the year wasn’t going to
be that special – then the sun came out and everything ripened
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Subjunctive mood
144 When to use the subjunctive
The subjunctive mood of a verb is used only in certain grammatico-semantic situations.
By ‘grammatico-semantic’ is meant
1 that a particular grammatical situation is required (the subjunctive is only used in
subordinate clauses)
2 that certain types of meanings are expressed by the verb or expression governing the
subordinate clause (eg joy, anger, doubt).
There are also some situations where a choice of indicative or subjunctive mood exists.
These two types of situations will be reviewed and illustrated below.
145 Use of tenses in the subjunctive
In practice only two of the four tenses of the subjunctive are commonly used, the present
and the perfect. The other two tenses, the imperfect and pluperfect, are restricted to very
formal usage and almost exclusively in the written medium. This has implications for the
sequence of tenses.
146 Sequence of tenses in the subjunctive
Because only two tenses are available for use in normal circumstances, the sequence
of tenses involving the subjunctive mood is different from that involving the
indicative.
Present tense – this may be used in a subordinate clause governed by any tense in the
main clause.
Perfect tense – this is used to correspond to the perfect, pluperfect, future perfect and
conditional perfect tenses of the indicative mood.
147 Illustration of the sequence of tenses in the subjunctive
Present tense
Il faut qu’elle parte lundi matin = she must leave Monday morning
Il fallait qu’elle parte lundi matin = she had to leave Monday morning
Il faudra qu’elle parte lundi matin = she’ll have to leave Monday morning
Il faudrait qu’elle parte lundi matin = she ought to leave Monday morning
Il a fallu qu’elle parte lundi matin = she had to leave Monday morning
Il fallut qu’elle parte lundi matin = she had to leave Monday morning
Il avait fallu qu’elle parte lundi matin = she had had to leave Monday morning
Il aura fallu qu’elle parte lundi matin = she’ll have had to leave Monday morning
Il aurait fallu qu’elle parte lundi mtin = she would have had to leave Monday morning
Perfect tense
Je ne crois pas qu’elle soit partie = I don’t believe she left
68
148 Clauses introduced by conjunctive
Je ne croyais pas qu’elle soit partie = I didn’t believe she had left
Il est arrive´ avant qu’elle soit partie = he arrived before she left
Il e´tait arrive´ avant qu’elle soit partie = he had arrived before she left
A` moins qu’elle ne soit partie, il ne serait pas venu = unless she had left, he would
not have come
Grammatical circumstances requiring the subjunctive
148 In clauses introduced by a conjunctive expression
The expressions may be grouped in the following way according to their meanings –
although (see 457) –
bien que
Bien que j’aie 40 ans, je viens de rencontrer l’homme de mes reˆves =
although I’m forty, I’ve just met the man of my dreams
encore que
Encore que vous soyez mal a` l’aise dans la compagnie des hommes, vous
allez souvent vers eux = although you’re uncomfortable in men’s company, you
often seek them out
malgre´ que
Malgre´ qu’elle sache que la nourriture est trop grasse, elle ce`de aux de´sirs
de ses enfants de manger le fast-food = although she knows that the food is too fatty, she
gives in to her children’s wish to eat fast-food
Malgre´ que tu sois naturelle, vous gardez encore quelques mauvais
re´flexes = despite the fact you’re natural, you hang on to a few bad reactions
quoique
Quoique nous pre´fe´rions rester au lit le matin, il faut savoir que c’est vers
6 ou 7 heures que le taux de testoste´rone, qui favorise le de´veloppement
des muscles, est le plus e´leve´ = although we prefer staying in bed in the morning, we need to
realise that it’s around 6 or 7 o’clock that the level of testosterone, which promotes muscle development, is
at its highest
When this group of conjunctive expressions refer to future time, the future tense is
used –
Quoique l’agence be´ne´ficiera de ce statut dans deux ans, pour le moment
elle doit se contenter de la situation actuelle = although the agency will benefit
from this status in a couple of years’ time, for the moment it will have to put up with the present
situation
before (see 465)
avant que
Retrempez-les une heure, avant que la sauce soit pre´pare´e = soak them for
another hour before the sauce is prepared
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Avant que Paul soit sorti de ma vie, je n’avais jamais l’occasion de
rencontrer de nouvelles personnes = before Paul walked out of my life, I never had the
chance to meet new people
The verb in the subjunctive may optionally be preceded by an ‘expletive’ ne, which adds
nothing to the meaning – the presence of the ne suggests a higher register of language –
Quatre jours avant que l’invasion n’ait eu lieu, les pilotes pre´paraient
leurs helicopte`res pour une guerre acharne´e = four days before the invasion took
place, the pilots were preparing their helicopters for a bitter war
for fear that
de crainte que
Again the verb in the subjunctive may optionally be preceded by an ‘expletive’ ne,
which adds nothing to the meaning – the presence of the ne suggests a higher register of
language (see 417) –
Ceux qui sont hostiles a` une telle loi, le sont de crainte qu’il n’y ait une
e´closion d’e´coles que l’Etat ne pourra pas controˆ ler = those who are opposed to
such a law are so for fear that there may be a proliferation of schools the State will not be able to
control
Vous regardez le plat de pre`s, de crainte qu’il ne soit pas du tout a` votre
gouˆ t = you look at the dish closely, for fear that it isn’t to your taste
de peur que
The same remarks apply here as to de crainte que
De peur que le re´gime artistique soit supprime´, je resterai directeur = for
fear that the artistic r´egime may be discontinued, I shall stay on as director
however little
pour autant que
Pour autant qu’il vous ait trompe´e, vous avez raison de rompre avec lui =
however little he may have cheated on you, you’re right to finish with him
pour peu que
Pour peu que nous regardions la te´le´vision, nous ne pouvons pas e´viter son
influence = however little we watch television, we cannot escape its influence
in order that, so that (see 460)
afin que
Afin que vous soyez e´pargne´ le stress, respirez profonde´ment et . . . riez =
in order to be spared stress, breathe deeply and . . . laugh
de fac¸on que / de fac¸on a` ce que
Je crois qu’a` ce moment-la` j’avais besoin de me de´culpabiliser, de fac¸on
que je me puisse me convaincre que je le faisais pour le bien-eˆtre de notre
couple = I think that at that moment I needed to set aside any guilt so that I could convince myself
that I was doing it for the benefit of the two of us
70
148 Clauses introduced by conjunctive
De fac¸on que l’inte´reˆt qu’il porte a` ce sujet soit manifeste´ clairement, il a
de´cide´ de faire un discours te´le´vise´ = so that his interest in this subject may be clearly
shown, he decided to make a speech on television
de manie`re que / de manie`re a` ce que
Portez les lunettes a` verres fume´s, de manie`re qu’elles vous fassent un
look d’enfer = wear tinted glasses so that they give you a fabulous look
de sorte que
De sorte que vous puissiez avoir une soire´e entre amis dans une ambiance
chaude, il n’y a qu’une seule adresse = so that you can have an evening among friends in
a warm atmosphere, there’s just one address
pour que
La Ministre de la Recherche redouble d’efforts pour que le site de
Cadarache soit pre´fe´re´ a` celui propose´ par les Japonais = the Minister of Research
is redoubling her efforts so that the Cadarache site is preferred to the one proposed by the Japanese
Bruxelles attendait ses rajustements pour qu’il se mette en conformite´
avec les prescriptions de la Commission = Brussels waited for him to make some
readjustments so that he would be in conformity with the Commission’s prescriptions
In the case of de fac¸on que, de manie`re que and de sorte que, the subjunctive is
used to express intention, not result. For examples of these expressions conveying result,
when the indicative, not the subjunctive, is used, see 459.
De fac¸on a` ce que and de manie`re a` ce que are replacing the shorter forms.
not that
non que / non pas que
Elle pre´fe`re rester chez elle, non qu’elle ait peur de sortir = she prefers to stay at
home, not that she’s afraid of going out
On dit que la femme franc¸aise consomme 8, 2 paires de collants chaque
anne´e et l’homme 4, 1 slips – non que je sache si c’est vrai ou non! = they say
that a French woman gets through 8.2 pairs of tights a year and a man 4.1 pairs of underpants – not
that I know if it’s right or not!
provided that
a` condition que
Le syndicalisme fait partie du paysage social, a` condition que l’Etat se
fasse respecter = trade unionism is part of the social fabric, provided that the State succeeds in
making itself respected
pourvu que
Pourvu que tu sois la` a` dix-neuf heures, je peux te conduire a` la gare =
provided you’re there at 7 o’clock, I’ll give you a lift to the station
sous re´serve que
Il acceptait de le reconnaıˆtre sous re´serve qu’il n’y ait pas de conse´quences
de´sagre´ables = he was prepared to admit it provided there were no unpleasant consequences
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
supposing that (see 458)
a` suppose´ que
A` suppose´ que vous vouliez consulter des bandes-annonces, des critiques
cine´-dvd, faites un petit tour sur M6.fr = supposing you want to consult banner
announcements, film and dvd crits, take a stroll through M6.fr
supposant que
Deux ex-fumeurs sur trois rechutent – supposant que vous vouliez tenir,
suivez ce conseil = two out of three ex-smokers relapse – supposing you want to persevere, take
this advice
suppose´ que
Suppose´ que tu aies raison, je n’ose lui e´crire = supposing you’re right, I daren’t write
to her
unless (see 458)
a` moins que
In formal circumstances, ne is inserted before the verb; this ne has no real semantic
value, but underlines the uncertain nature of the assertion (see 417).
Elles parlent d’une peau plus lisse, plus raffermie, a` moins qu’elles ne
soient victimes d’une campagne de publicite´ irre´sistible = they speak of a
smoother, firmer skin – unless they’re victims of an irresistible advertising campaign
Il doit trouver un nouveau partenaire, a` moins que les Ame´ricains ne
raflent la mise = he’s got to find a new partner, unless the Americans snap up the bait
until (see 465)
jusqu’a` ce que
Jusqu’a` ce qu’il y ait des tests antidopage plus probants, les athle`tes
continueront d’abuser du syste`me = until there are more conclusive antidrugs tests,
athletes will continue to abuse the system
Respirez doucement jusqu’a` ce que votre respiration devienne plus
re´gulie`re = breathe gently until your breathing becomes more regular
Sometimes ne . . . que is used as an equivalent to English until (see 425) –
Ils ne prendront la ville d’assaut que lorsqu’ils seront certains que les
civils l’ont quitte´e = they won’t attack the town until they’re sure the civilians have left
whether . . . or (see 458)
soit que . . . ou / soit que or que . . . ou – see que below
Soit que tu viennes chez moi ou que je vienne te chercher chez toi, nous
aurons assez de temps = whether you come to my house or I come to yours, we’ll have enough
time
Soit que vous perciez votre nombril vous-meˆme, soit que vous demandiez a`
une amie de le faire, c’est toujours dangereux = whether you pierce your navel yourself
or ask a friend to do it, it’s still dangerous
Que ce soit vrai ou non, je vais continuer = whether it’s true or not, I’m going to carry on
72
149 Clauses depending on emotion
Qu’il s’agisse de votre vie amoureuse ou de vos liens amicaux, des tensions
sont a` craindre = whether it’s a matter of your love life or your friendships, tensions are
inevitable
Qu’il soit blanc ou noir n’a aucune importance = whether he’s white or black has no
importance whatsoever
while waiting for
en attendant que
En attendant que le docteur nous dise s’il y avait un proble`me, mon oncle
a quitte´ son cabinet = while waiting for the doctor to tell us if there was a problem, my uncle
walked out of the surgery
Vous devenez impatiente en attendant qu’il vous appelle = you’re becoming
impatient waiting for him to give you a ring
without
sans que
Il a continue´ de se droguer sans qu’on s’en soit remarque´ = he continued taking
drugs without anyone noticing
Les tics pompent beaucoup d’e´nergie, sans que l’on s’en rende compte =
tics demand a lot of energy, without us realising it
La compagnie a pose´ des conditions de´mentes – une publication en
aveugle, sans meˆme que l’e´diteur franc¸ais puisse voir les photos = the
company set some crazy conditions – a blind publication, without the French publisher even being able to
see the pictures
149 In clauses depending upon a verb or expression
conveying an emotion
Agreement / permission
after consentir = to consent, permettre = to allow, refuser = to refuse
L’arbitre a permis que le jeu soit diffe´re´ a` cause de la neige = the referee allowed
the game to be postponed because of the snow
Elle a refuse´ qu’on vende ses peintures = she refused to let anyone sell her paintings
Anxiety / anticipation
after attendre = to wait, s’attendre (a` ce que) = to expect, veiller (a` ce que) = to
make sure
On s’attend a` ce que ce PDG hors norme devienne symbole d’une re´gion
industrielle qui re´ussit dans le secteur des technologies de pointe = it is to be
expected that this exceptional managing director will become the symbol of an industrial region
successful in the advanced technology sector
Veillez a` ce que les enfants ne rentrent pas trop tard = make sure the children don’t
come back too late
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
Command / request
after commander = to order, demander = to ask, to demand, exiger = to demand, insister
(pour que) = to insist, ordonner = to order
Ayant exige´ que les recommandations soient vote´es, le pre´sident a passe´
au prochain point de l’ordre du jour = having required that the recommendations be voted
upon, the chairman passed on to the next item on the agenda
Il a insiste´ pour que le transport alternatif ne soit utilise´ qu’a` titre
exceptionnel = he insisted that alternative transport should only be used in exceptional
circumstances
J’ai e´te´ si surprise que je ne demandais meˆme pas qu’il le fasse encore une
fois = I was so surprised that I didn’t even ask him to do it again
Desire
after aimer = to like, avoir envie = to want, de´sirer = to desire, pre´fe´rer = to prefer,
souhaiter = to wish, tenir (a` ce que) = to want, vouloir = to want
Il a pre´fe´re´ que le club renonce a` cette rupture avec la tradition = he preferred
the club to abandon this break with tradition
Je souhaite qu’elle lance une campagne en faveur des parents pauvres qui
e´le`vent seuls leurs enfants = my wish is that she will launch a campaign in favour of poor
parents who bring up their children alone
Il veut que ce soit elle qui fasse le premier pas = he wants her to be the one who
makes the first move
Fear / anger
after avoir peur = to be afraid, craindre = to fear, de crainte = for fear, de peur = for fear,
eˆtre embeˆtant = to be annoying, eˆtre faˆ che´ = to be angry, eˆtre honteux = to be
disgraceful, eˆtre me´content = to be unhappy, s’indigner = to become indignant, redouter
= to fear
In the case of those verbs expressing fear, like the linked conjunctive expressions de
crainte que, de peur que, the verb in the subjunctive may optionally be preceded by
an ‘expletive’ ne, which adds nothing to the meaning – the presence of the ne suggests
a higher register of language (see 417).
Il avait peur que son e´quipe ne soit e´limine´e de la compe´tition = he was afraid
that his team would be eliminated from the competition
Il est embeˆtant que les technologies avance´es aient de temps en temps
mene´ a` une perte d’e´le´gance = it’s annoying that advances in technology have from time to
time led to a loss in elegance
J’avais un peu peur qu’elle fasse des comparaisons et qu’elle nous mette
des notes = I was afraid that she would make comparisons and give us marks
Pleasure
after eˆtre content = to be happy, eˆtre heureux = to be happy, eˆtre ravi = to be delighted,
eˆtre satisfait = to be satisfied, se fe´liciter = to congratulate yourself, se re´jouir = to be
delighted
74
150 Clauses conveying avoiding, etc.
Je suis contente que cet appareil te convienne = I’m pleased that this camera suits you
Elle s’est re´jouie que les gendarmes l’aient arreˆte´ sur pre´somption de
viol = she was delighted that the police had arrested him on suspicion of rape
Nous sommes ravis qu’il ait passe´ son permis poids lourd afin d’emmener
ses chevaux aux concours d’e´quitation = we’re delighted he’s taken his heavy vehicle
licence test so as to be able to drive his horses to the horse trials
Sadness
after eˆtre de´sole´ = to be sorry, eˆtre triste = to be sad, se plaindre = to complain,
regretter = to be sorry
Je suis de´sole´ que tu ne puisses pas venir ce soir = I’m sorry that you can’t come this
evening
Elle s’est plainte qu’une minorite´ de spectateurs ait toujours exige´ plus de
violence = she complained that a minority of viewers always demanded more violence
Je regrette profonde´ment qu’elle ait refuse´ de me donner son adresse = I
deeply regret that she refused to give me her address
Surprise
after s’e´tonner = to be astonished, eˆtre choque´ = to be shocked, eˆtre surpris = to be
surprised
Je m’e´tonne que tu n’aies pas re´ussi a` ce test = I’m astonished you failed that test
Cela ne me surprend pas que ces innovations aient eu l’effet d’une bombe
dans ce secteur conservateur = I’m not surprised that these innovations have had the effect
of a bomb in that conservative area
J’e´tais choque´ qu’elle ait mis son pied nu sur mon entrejambe = I was shocked
that she put her bare foot on my inner thigh
150 In clauses depending upon a verb or expression
conveying avoiding, chance, denial, evaluation, forbidding,
(im)possibility, improbability, necessity, uncertainty
Avoiding
after empeˆcher = to prevent, e´viter = to avoid
Beaucoup de choses vous inte´ressent, mais vous devez empeˆcher qu’elles
veuillent vous maıˆtriser = lots of things interest you, but you have to avoid them wanting to
dominate you
Pour e´viter que la discussion devienne trop houleuse, il est parti furieux =
in order to prevent the discussion from becoming too agitated, he stormed out
Chance
after il arrive = it happens, il n’y a aucune chance = there’s no chance, il y a de grandes
chances = there’s every chance, il y a le danger = there’s the danger, risquer = to take the
risk
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
Il arrive de temps en temps que je me sente en faveur de l’euthanasie = there
are times when I feel in favour of euthanasia
Il arrive parfois que ma copine soit de bonne humeur le matin – je suis
euphorique pour toute la journe´e = it sometimes happens that my girlfriend is in a good
mood in the morning – I feel over the moon all day long
Il y a de grandes chances que le rhinoce´ros disparaisse dans quelques
de´cennies = the chances are high that rhinoceroses will disappear in a few decades
Denial
after nier = to deny
La police a nie´ que la victime n’ait porte´ qu’un pied de table et non un fusil
= the police denied that the victim was just carrying a table leg and not a rifle
Elle a surpris tout le monde en niant qu’elle veuille rester vierge jusqu’au
mariage = she surprised everybody by denying that she wanted to remain a virgin till she was
married
Evaluation
after a large number of impersonal expressions – il y a inte´reˆt (a` ce que) = it’s a good
idea, il/c’est dommage = it’s a shame, peu importe = it scarcely matters, ce n’est pas
la peine = it’s not worth the effort, il est bon = it’s worthwhile, il est curieux = it’s strange,
il est important = it’s important, il est juste = it’s fair, il est normal = it’s normal, il
est paradoxal = it’s paradoxical, il est pre´fe´rable = it’s preferable, il est rare = it’s rare,
il semble = it seems
Peu importe que le spectacle ait e´te´ annule´ – cela ne m’inte´ressait pas du
tout = it didn’t matter that the show was cancelled – I wasn’t interested anyway
Il est important que la compagnie trouve un second souffle = it’s important for
the company to get a second wind
Il est rare que quelqu’un puisse dire que personne ne l’a jamais aime´ = it’s
rare for anyone to be able to say that no one has ever loved them
Note that when an indirect object is involved with il semble (= it seems to . . .), the
indicative mood is used –
Il semble qu’on ait propose´ trop d’activite´s extrascolaires aux enfants = it
seems that children have had too many extracurricular activities suggested to them
Il me semble que certains sports sont susceptibles de mieux correspondre
a` son tempe´rament que d’autres = it seems to me that certain sports are likely to
correspond better to her temperament than others
Forbidding
after de´fendre = to forbid, interdire = to ban
Il avait de´fendu que sa fille aille aux boıˆtes de nuit = he had banned his daughter
from going to nightclubs
76
150 Clauses conveying avoiding, etc.
(Im)possibility and improbability
after a large number of impersonal expressions – il y a opportunite´ = the opportunity
exists, il est (im)possible = it’s (im)possible, il est improbable = it’s unlikely, il est
inadmissible = it’s unacceptable, il est invraisemblable = it’s unlikely, il se peut =
it’s possible, il est peu probable = it’s unlikely
De`s qu’il a bu un coup de trop, il se peut qu’il soit me´connaissable,
incontroˆ lable = after he’s drunk a bit too much, it’s possible that he’s unrecognisable, uncontrollable
Il n’est pas impossible qu’il ait passe´ discre`tement et ait e´chappe´ a` notre
surveillance = it’s not impossible that he passed by discreetly and avoided our surveillance
Il est peu probable que nous gagnions le match samedi = it’s unlikely that we’ll
win the match on Saturday
Although il est peu probable is followed by the subjunctive, il est probable = it’s
probable / probably is not –
Il est probable qu’on trouvera un me´dicament qui permettra de prolonger
la dure´e de vie de patients atteints d’un cancer de la prostate = they will
probably find a cure which will allow patients suffering from prostate cancer to prolong their lives
Necessity
after a large number of impersonal expressions – il est essentiel = it’s essential, il est
impe´ratif = it’s imperative, il est ine´vitable = it’s inevitable, il est naturel = it’s natural,
il est ne´cessaire = it’s necessary, il est temps = it’s time, il faut = it’s necessary, il s’en
faut de peu = within a little
Il est essentiel que la coque du bateau soit modifie´e apre`s son retour de
l’Australie = it’s essential for the boat’s hull to be modified after its return from Australia
Il faut que vous vous interrogiez sur les raisons de votre de´pendance = you
must question yourself about the reasons for your dependency
Il est temps que vous conside´riez la possibilite´ de vous remarier = it’s time
you considered the possibility of remarriage
Uncertainty
after a large number of impersonal expressions – il n’est pas certain = it’s not certain,
il est douteux = it’s doubtful, il semble = it seems (but see Evaluation above), il
n’est pas suˆ r = it’s not sure, il n’est pas vrai = it’s not true, douter = to doubt – and
the following verbs when used negatively and/or interrogatively – affirmer = to affirm,
croire = to believe, dire = to say, penser = to think, trouver = to find
Il n’avait jamais pense´ qu’il aille falloir voter une loi contre le
vagabondage = he had never thought that it would be necessary to pass a law against vagrancy
Quoique la fe´de´ration de foot ait poursuivi le de´pistage sanguin, il n’est
pas vrai qu’elle ait aussi re´alise´ des tests urinaires = although the football
federation undertook blood tests, it is not true that it undertook urine tests as well
Je ne crois pas que ces rumeurs soient vraies = I don’t believe the rumours are true
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A STUDENT GUIDE TO FRENCH GRAMMAR
With expressions like il n’y a pas de doute que = there’s no doubt that, which imply
certainty, the indicative mood is used –
Il n’y a pas de doute que vous encouragerez son initiative en re´pondant a`
son sourire = there’s no doubt that you’ll encourage her initiative if you respond to her smile
151 In relative clauses depending upon a superlative formed
with plus or moins
C’est le projet le plus ambitieux que l’universite´ ait entrepris = it’s the most
ambitious project the university has undertaken
Les lettres qu’elle m’a e´crites sont les plus tendres que j’aie jamais
rec¸ues = the letters she wrote me are the most loving ones I’ve ever received
C’est le moins qu’on puisse dire = it’s the least you can say
The situation is less clear-cut with other types of superlative – see 155.
152 In noun clauses introduced by le fait que or que alone
Le fait que le Pre´sident ait dit non aux Ame´ricains donne a` penser = the fact
that the President said no to the Americans gives food for thought
Le fait qu’il n’y ait peu ou pas d’impoˆ t sur les fortunes attire beaucoup de
Franc¸ais en Suisse = the fact that there is little or no wealth tax attracts a good many French to
Switzerland
Que les ce´le´brite´s veuillent rester anonymes autant que possible est bien
connu = it’s well known that celebs want to stay anonymous as much as possible
Que vous ayez gagne´ e´tait une grande surprise pour tout le monde = that you
won was a great surprise for everyone
153 In clauses depending upon a range of indefinite
expressions, equivalent to English words ending in –ever –
pronouns whoever, whatever, adjective whatever, adverbs
however, wherever
(See 457.)
qui que = whoever, anyone
qui que is normally used in conjunction with eˆtre; if a verb other than eˆtre is required,
the expression qui que ce soit is used as subject or object or after a preposition,
followed by qui + the required verb in the subjunctive mood, as appropriate –
Qui que vous soyez = whoever you are
Il de´fie qui que ce soit de descendre cette piste = he challenges anyone to go down that
piste
Qui que ce soit qui te´le´phone, dis-lui que je suis sortie = whoever phones, tell them
I’ve gone out
78
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